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Great Works
Paintings
A Modern Olympia
(1873)
When Edouard Manet unveiled his controversial
Olympia
(1863) at the 1865 Salon, it was considered a scandal. The artist
reworked Titian’s
Venus of Urbino
, 1538, in order to create his own vision of the work and replaced red curtains for green
and green bed for red, while the faithful dog in the original was replaced by a Baudelairean cat, a symbol of promiscuity.
Cézanne “modernized” Manet’s work and included his own contrasts. The 1863 work included a wrapped bouquet of
exquisite flowers and a delicate, arching cat, which Cézanne identifies by an explosion of blooms in a huge ornamental
vase and a small scruffy dog with a red collar. In his portrayal, the staid prostitute and her maid are also treated with
more enthusiasm. Instead of reclining rather majestically, the prostitute is curled and awkwardly naked, while the black
maid – originally cradling the bouquet – is now seen “unveiling” the woman on the bed and given a much more “active”
task. The work shows more expressive characters, yet they are much more ungainly than Manet’s figures in Cézanne’s
continuing, but early, acquaintance with Impressionism. In this
Modern Olympia
, the audience is cordially invited to be
spectators, while in Manet’s work, the audience is only hinted at by the partially open door in the background. Cézanne
had reworked Manet’s piece earlier in 1870, at a time when he was highly influenced by the old masters and the
paintings of Delacroix, Daumier, and Courbet. This second version was different in its use of color and more flamboyant
style. He produced
A Modern Olympia
(1873) following a heated discussion with Dr. Gachet at Auvers-sur-Oise, which
may have contributed to this more daring interpretation. The man in this portrayal could, it might be argued, be the artist
himself, who greatly adds to the theatrical nature of the work. The painting was shown at the first Impressionist exhibition of
1874 where it was met with scorn from critics and the public alike. At the time, the work was much misunderstood.
• Oil on canvas, 18.1 in x 21.7 in (46 cm x 55 cm)
Cézanne, Paul (1839-1906): A Modern Olympia. Paris, Musee d’Orsay. © 2013. Photo Scala, Florence
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